Tag Archives: Macmillan Audio

ARC — Play to Win — Jodie Slaughter

“ “Six.”
The age she was when she met Leo Vaughn.
“Thirty-one.”
Like the day in July she’d kissed him for the first time.
“Fourteen.”
The number of wildflowers he always brought her, two more than a dozen to make up for the fact that he couldn’t get her store-bought ones.
“Twenty-one.”
The most times he’s told her he loved her in one day.
“Fifty-eight.”
The number of days it had taken her to leave the house again after he’d left.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Revolves around abandonment. Touches on infidelity and death of parent. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Play to Win” follows Miriam Butler as she reunites with her estranged husband, Leo Vaughn, in hopes of getting a fast divorce after winning more than 200 million dollars in the lottery.

I was lucky enough to get ARCs for both the book and the audiobook, and I absolutely loved it. Lacy Laurel was the perfect voice for Miriam and for this novel, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard her narrate any other books before.

Jodie Slaughter’s “Bet on It” was amongst one of my favorite books last year. It was charming and spicy and so well-written. “Play to Win” brings exactly that to the table. I just couldn’t give it a 5-star rating because of the nature of this second chance romance—I’ll blame it on my abandonment issues, but leaving your spouse for 8 years just isn’t right under any circumstance and with no explanation, there is no redemption after that. And getting reunited after she won the lottery? I don’t know… was he aiming for her or the money? If I were Miriam, I wouldn’t know—and that’s all I could think about throughout.

Don’t hesitate to grab “Play to Win” if you’re looking for a fast-paced, spicy romance novel. The characters are likable and almost relatable if you can imagine yourself winning literally hundreds of millions of dollars in the lottery.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 11, 2023

ARC — Not That Kind of Ever After — Luci Adams

“It’s our own classy ending to our own classic story, and I now know with absolute certainty that it’s better than any fairytale out there.”

Author: Luci Adams
Narrator: Josie Charles

Genre: Romance, Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating and contains some self deprecation and slightly unhealthy relationships. Contains sexual content, but isn’t too explicit.

“Not That Kind of Ever After” follows Bella Marble, an aspiring author and current receptionist at a publishing house, as she struggles through her changing life and, after a fit of writer’s block, decides to start writing autobiographical-ish fairytale one-night stands. Little did she expect that she’d go absolutely viral as @B.Enchanted, now she must look for more fairytales (and one-night stands) to rewrite. But this isn’t like her. And most people around her can see it, Bella just isn’t willing to hear it.

This audiobook caught me off guard to begin with. I was not expecting Josie Charles’ British accent but I must say I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Josie’s accent was soft and whimsical and I could surprisingly listen to it at 2.5x speed and still understand what she was saying perfectly (I usually can’t do more than 1.5x speed with a British accent, my ears just aren’t trained for it, I’m sorryyyyy).

This is the weirdest 5-star read. I found Bella annoying but at the same time I loved it? I was down for watching her fail and then redeem herself (multiple times), but I always knew she’d have her Happily Ever After.

This isn’t a closed door romance per se, we know Bella gets down to business a few times but we don’t see much of the details on it, if you know what I mean. It was still a super cute story and I totally see why it’s classified both under romance and under general fiction—it’s a little bit of both.

I would highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun read about dating in this day and age—with a cute lil’ trope at the end, but not giving that one spoiler away. All you need to know if Bella gets her Ever After with quite a guy.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: March 14, 2023

ARC — Make A Wish — Helena Hunting — Spark House #3

“Have faith in the power of true love, my dear, it conquers all.”

Author: Helena Hunting
Narrators: Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Spicy Meter: 3 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses age gap relationships, parental death, death during childbirth, dysfunctional relationships, and gaslighting. Contains explicit sexual content.

“Make a Wish” is the third and final installment in the Spark House series, and it follows the youngest Spark sister: Harley. She used to be a live-in nanny for a toddler named Peyton, but that was until she tried to kiss the girl’s widowed father, Gavin, and they upped and left to the other side of the State. Harley never saw them again, she moved on to work with her sisters in their boutique hotel, and that was that. Until Gavin and the now 9-year-old Peyton move back and they naturally reconnect. Will Harley get over what happened years ago and be able to move on to what the future could hold? Or will her embarrassment win this time around?

Hear me out: this book is part of a series, yes, but it works so so well as a standalone novel. And you can trust me with this one, because I have not read any of the other Spark House books and I was not only able to understand what was going on, but I was able to love the novel and all the characters as a whole.

And then when it came to the narration of this ARC audiobook—it was simply perfect. Stella Bloom’s voice was soft and really expressed Harley’s quirkiness, and Jason Clarke… Oh, Jason Clarke. His voice was so so deep. It was absolutely immaculate. I recently found out all the other audiobooks for this series are narrated by this pair and I can’t wait to get my hands on those.

The age difference and change in power dynamics was a bit weird, I’m not going to lie. I sometimes doubted Gavin’s intentions and really thought all he wanted was another live-in nanny. Also, that 9-year-old acted more like a 5- or 6-year-old, it got to be a bit annoying, yet I still honestly enjoyed this book—hence the aaaalmost perfect star rating.

I can’t speak for the rest of the series, but I would highly recommend “Make a Wish” if you’re looking for a romance that leans more towards the complex. Touching topics like childbirth death and losing both parents at a young age, this is a bit of a heavy read—but it still finds ways to be heartwarming.

If you enjoy age difference and second chances at love, then “Make a Wish” is most definitely for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 24, 2023

The Atlas Six — Olivie Blake — The Atlas #1

“(…) What could possibly be the but, Varona? What about this would you kill for?” (…)
“Jesus, Rhodes, what part of this wouldn’t you kill for?”

Author: Olivie Blake
Narrated By: Andy Ingalls, Caitlin Kelly, Damian Lynch, David Monteith, James Cronin, Munirih Grace, Siho Ellsmore, and Steve West.

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses and describes suicide, death (in general and parent and sibling death), murder, kidnapping, terminal illnesses (degenerative diseases), abandonment, child neglect, and some sexual content.

“The Atlas Six” follows six magical young adults as they study and prepare to hopefully join the Alexandrian Society, a secret society of academicians who keep the secrets of lost civilizations and who initiate 5 new members out of 6 candidates every 10 years. These candidates are the best magicians of their time, and so in come the mismatched bunch that wins your heart throughout this story. Libby Rhodes and Nico da Varona have known each other their whole lives and they’re both physicists who can create and change matter with their minds. Reina Mori is a naturalist who can create life itself. Parisa Kamali is a seductress and telepath that’ll know exactly what to say and when to say it. Tristan Caine can see through reality and through magic. Callum Nova is an illusionist that can manipulate everything and everyone to no limit. Together, they could wreak havoc on the world—apart, they could wreak havoc amongst themselves.

“The Atlas Six” was a Tiktok, pandemic sensation, but I truly believe it could’ve made it big without those circumstances as well. This is the epitome of dark academia, it gives all those aesthetic vibes. Mix magic with morally-gray characters and there you’ll have “The Atlas Six”.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I adored every single narrator, no buts or exceptions, and I honestly can’t wait to listen to these characters brought to life again in “The Atlas Paradox.”

This story is very character-driven, and I’m more of a plot-driven reader, but I learned to love the characters, so by the end I didn’t mind one bit. I loved Libby and Nico instantly, I lowkey ship them together but also ship Nico with his roommate, so I don’t know what to tell you. I found Reina intriguing from the start, I think of all the magical powers hers is the one I would like to have myself. I felt indifferent about Tristan at first but his friendship and relationship with Libby and his accent won me over little by little. And then there were Callum and Parisa, the characters I hated to begin with and then grew to appreciate.

If one thing is true about this world that Olivie Blake has built is that no one is purely evil or purely good. Circumstances and power can turn anyone into something they are usually not.

If it isn’t obvious by now, I cannot recommend this book enough. Here’s hoping the sequel doesn’t disappoint.

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“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”

ARC — Mistakes Were Made — Meryl Wilsner

“I want to go scuba diving with you. (…) Like, the ocean is huge and terrifying and unknown, but if you want to go scuba diving, I want to. I want to make you happy or do the things that make you happy with you.”

Author: Meryl Wilsner
Narrated By: Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Quinn Riley, and Stephanie Németh-Parker.

Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 stars
Narration: 4 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses divorce and big age-difference relationship. Includes very explicit sexual content.

“Mistakes Were Made” follows Cassie Klein, a STEM senior university student hoping to be a grad student in aeronautic engineering, after she hooks up with a hot older woman called Erin at a bar… an older woman that ends up being the mom of one of her close friends. But Cassie didn’t know Erin was her friend’s mom when they met. She just knew she was pulled towards Erin, and she wanted to be close to her—and close to her she was. Being an ode to secret relationships, this book brings you all the rush you can need for the foreseeable future.

This book comes in as steamy as they get, right from the start. It is fast-paced, although perhaps a bit unrealistic—hence the 4 stars I gave it. The writing and the narration was amazing, although I grew a bit tired of Erin’s voice by the end, it felt too sophisticated for its own good.

I also feel bad for pointing this out, but I think it simply can’t be ignored: the age difference was weird. Really weird. It’s almost unnatural how people accepted it in the end. I would not be okay with my mom dating my friend—my friend who is 20 years her junior. I know Cassie swears it isn’t mommy issues with her attraction to Erin, but girl… those were some hella big mommy issues right there, even if she refused to see it.

All in all, I would still recommend this book. It’s entertaining and exciting, and actually pretty sweet. If you like books with secret relationships and with very big age differences—and that end with a happily ever after anyways—then “Mistakes Were Made” is for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, and published by St. Martin’s Griffin, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

ARC — Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed — Edited by Marissa Meyer

Authors: Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Sandhya Menon, Marissa Meyer, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen

Narrated by: Aida Reluzco, Alaska Jackson, Ewan Chung, Gary Tiedemann, James Fouhey, Jeanette Illidge, Natalie Naudus, and Reena Dutt

Genre: Young Adult
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: None that I can think of.

“Serendipity” addresses different romantic tropes, twisting them into extraordinary and more inclusive versions of the tales we’ve heard a hundred times before. Following prompts like unrequited love, fake relationships, and grand romantic gestures, the stories are sharp and entertaining.

This compilation of stories delivers what’s promised. This book is perfect if you’re looking to delve into different worlds and stories without the time commitment of reading a whole book. Think watching a movie versus watching a short Youtube video. If you’re in the mood for short videos, then this is the book for you.

I was lucky enough to be provided with the audiobook thanks to NetGalley. I found most narrators to be charming and their voices fit their characters perfectly. There was just one occasion in which I felt the voice didn’t match the character I imagined, but even then, listening to this audiobook was amazing.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for short, heartwarming stories. This compilation reminded me of Rainbow Rowell, Maureen Johnson, and John Green (think the Christmas-y compilation they were a part of in 2016, “Let It Snow”, this book kind of has those vibes), so I would recommend this book to anyone who’s liked their writing.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 4, 2022 (TODAY!)